Some people would argue that there’s no such thing as an easy way to make money, but I think that is just hogwash!  There are plenty of simple money making ideas, some of which can be very effective.

What’s the easiest way to make money?  Do something you enjoy doing and find a way to make it pay!  If you enjoy a particular activity and you can get paid for it at the same time, then you’re on to a winner.

Dog Walking

Do you like taking a walk in the fresh air?  And are you a dog lover?  If you’ve answered yes to both of those questions, then why not combine the two, and find work for yourself as a dog walker?  Dog walking is a great way to make a bit of extra money doing something you enjoy.  Not only does it keep you fit, but it also gets you out in the open, and allows you to spend some time with your favourite animals.  What could be better?

Finding work as a dog walker is not actually too difficult, although it does depend on where you live.  You can always put up small ads in pet shops, vets, and on other local notice boards.  You can also place free ads in various Internet based directories such as  Craig’s List or GumTree.

Babysitting

Another simple way to make money (particularly for mothers and older teenagers) is by babysitting.  If you are mother already, then this can be one of the easiest ways to make some extra cash because all you’re doing is what you’ve been doing for years anyway, just with somebody else’s kids!

Do consider the responsibilities here however.  If you’re looking after other people’s children, you’re in an incredibly responsible position.  But if they’re asleep and tucked up in bed and your just sitting on the sofa watching television, then once again, you’re on to a winner!

Tuition

Tuition can be another way to make some cash doing something you love.  If you have a particular skill, then why not teach that skill to others and charge for your services?  How about giving guitar or piano lessons for example, or running a cookery or painting class?

There are always various ways to make a bit of extra cash, ways that don’t involve back breaking work.  So try some of these simple money making ideas and see how you get on.

Making cash and generating an income is not just the preserve of grownups.  Children are often interested in earning money too, so here are some money making ideas for kids that you can try.

It is actually very good for children to learn how to earn money from a young age, so that they grow up understanding the value of things.  If they are just given a handout every time they want something, they may expect that to continue when they are adults, in which case they’ll be in for a rude awakening!

Selling Unused Items

Kids are often very good at collecting stuff.  But a lot of the things that they collect, they only use for a certain amount of time before losing interest and moving on to the next fad.  But those old toys, games and books that they never look at any more can be great little cash generators.  So why not help your kids organize a flea market or a yard sale, where they can sell all of these items and make some extra pocket money?  If they get together with a few friends and pool their resources, you would be surprised at how many old toys and things they could pull together and how much money they can earn from selling it!

You could even take things a step further by helping them to sell the various things they don’t want on eBay.  The great thing about eBay is that they can set a minimum price on anything they want to sell.  So your kids don’t have to get rid of anything for less than it’s worth. This is one of the best ways how kids can make money.

Tutoring

Another great way for kids to earn some extra cash, is to tutor younger children.  Younger children are often in need of extra tuition in subjects like maths & English for example, and teachers can be very expensive to hire on a one-to-one basis.  So if your kids have a talent in a particular subject, they can offer their services, maybe by advertising in the local schools.

Odd Jobs

When I was young, I used to go around the neighbourhood knocking on doors and asking people if they wanted any odd jobs doing, such a simple gardening, car washing, or running errands.

These days, many parents would feel uncomfortable about allowing their kids to go out and knock on strangers’ doors.  But if you live in a fairly safe neighbourhood, and if the children go out in groups of twos or threes (and if you know exactly which route they are taking), then the dangers are actually very low.  So this can be a great way for your children to earn some extra cash.

These are just a few of the money making ideas for kids that can work well.  But if you know of any others, please feel free to leave a comment.

The Internet is just fall of opportunities for making money.  A growing number of people are now making a full time income exclusively on the Internet.  Even more are supplementing their existing income through a variety of Internet money making ideas, working in their spare time to generate additional cash online.

Google Adsense

One of the best ways to make an additional income online is through Google AdSense.  Google AdSense is a fantastic network run by Google, which allows advertisers to place ads on people’s websites.  Google shares the revenue it receives from these advertisers with the owners of the sites where the ads are placed. So if you have a website, and if it gets some decent traffic, then you can earn a nice income by placing Google AdSense ads on that site.

Now this might sound very easy, and in some ways it is.  It certainly is not difficult to create a website and fill it with content.  The tricky bit is attracting traffic and getting them to click on the ads.  So how do you do that?

Well, we will be looking at this in a lot more detail in future posts about different money making ideas, but the general idea is to create a website around a particular niche topic, write keyword-rich articles, and get anchored backlinks to your site from other sites.  If you do this well enough, and if the niche you are focusing on is not too competitive, it is possible to rank highly in the search engine results.  By ranking highly, you will attract traffic to your site and if the content is written in the right way, people will indeed click on your ads and you will make money.

Affiliate Marketing

Another way to make money online is through affiliate marketing. Affiliate marketing on the Internet is a process whereby you sell other people’s products from your website.  This process is similar to creating niche websites for Google AdSense, except that you are talking about specific products and providing links on your site where people can buy those products.  There are various affiliate networks that allow you to sell a range of products from your site.  These include ClickBank and Amazon, amongst others.

Create Your Own Product

But probably one of the most profitable ways to make money on the Internet is by creating your own product and selling its online.  This product could be an e-book; or some kind of training course; or a subscription Podcast; some software maybe; or a wide range of other things.  By creating your own product and selling it from your own site, you get to keep all profits whenever you make a sale.  And if you offer the product for sale through an affiliate network, then you can make sales through other people’s websites as well.

These are just a few of the Internet money making ideas that are generating good money for those who follow up on them.  In future articles, we will discuss each of these methods in more detail, including how to make money with a blog.